A new study by researchers at the University of Toronto Scarborough suggests that being mentally sharp can help people complete the equivalent of 40 extra minutes of work in a day.
The research, published in Science Advances, tracked 184 students over 12 weeks. Each day, participants completed cognitive tests to measure mental sharpness and later reported whether they had achieved their daily goals.
Instead of comparing students with one another, researchers looked at how each person's performance changed from day to day. The findings showed that when people were mentally alert, they were more likely to complete their tasks and even set themselves more ambitious goals.
On less focused days, productivity dropped. In fact, the difference between a good day and a bad day could amount to as much as 80 minutes of work.
Lead researcher Cendri Hutcherson said everyone experiences mental highs and lows. The study explored what separates those productive days from the more difficult ones.
“Some days everything just clicks, and on other days it feels like you're pushing through fog,” says Cendri Hutcherson, associate professor in the Department of Psychology at U of T Scarborough and lead author of the study.
“What we wanted to understand was why that happens, and how much those mental ups and downs actually matter.”
The team also examined factors that could influence mental sharpness, including sleep quality, motivation and levels of distraction. They found that getting enough rest, avoiding long term burnout and managing low mood could help improve focus.
Researchers stressed that while personality traits such as self control matter overall, they do not prevent daily fluctuations in mental clarity. The findings help explain why some days feel effortless, while others feel like a struggle.
